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Wednesday, December 14, 2016

In case you missed it, CCP are giving daily presents for all! Similar to other games that do this, you need to log on each day to claim your gift for that day otherwise you lose out. Each day being UTC hours not the usual DT to DT you might expect in Eve.

"Each gift will be present for 24 hours, until 23:59:59 UTC, when it will be replaced by the next gift. Be sure to log in and claim your gifts from your redeeming system to avoid missing out!"

Anyway, grabbed my first one today... wow... I have a lot of crap in my redeeming queue!

You get a crate in your inventory and unlocking it runs through a little unlocking thingy like a hack. I got....

This is a problem with early adopting new tech in Eve Online. I've not done the numbers myself but I have heard that with the Excavator Drones a proper fit Rorqual did the same yield as 8 well fit Hulks. Post December update it'll be 5 and a bit hulks. CCP have been watching the effect these drones have been having has and decided they don't like it. Apparently they were raking in 350m an hour. A billion ISK in three hours?

Surely if they are making so much money it would be obvious that they'd be nerfed? People on the forums are screaming that they have bought skill injectors to get into Rorqual mining? Why did they do that? Obviously because they saw it made an absolute bucket-load of cash.

Whenever something new is released, or completely revamped there tends to be two things happen:-

1. Prices start off really high or increase in value suddenly
2. Things tend to get nerfed fairly quickly

If you jump in early you are likely to pay way over the odds and have limited time before the nerfbat lands. The only difference between this and say, when T3 Destroyers were nerfed, is the speed the nerf has come in at. I guess that means CCP have picked up a major problem early!

Monday, December 5, 2016

Blog Banter 78 - The Big ResetJust for a moment engage your "willing suspension of disbelief". Imagine that CCP, at downtime today, reset everything in Eve Online. Everything! When you logged in you were in a starter system with your character... but now with less than a million skill points, a mere 5,000 ISK and a noob ship (now with civilian afterburner!). Markets are pretty empty other than a few seeded items. All Sov is gone. All player structures are gone. All PI infrastructure is gone. No corps or alliances exist. Nothing remains. New Eden is suddenly a completley level playing field and the next great goldrush is on? Or is it? What happens now?Banter on.....
Problem is it is difficult to willingly suspend belief here as it wouldn't happen. It would be worse than Trump or Brexit. A massively self-destructive act that would lead to the end of Eve. Then again India did try to beat both Trump and Brexit by making 85% of their cash illegal with about 3 hours notice in a society that is almost totally reliant on hard-cash. May be CCP could try and top this in the quest for 2016's Most Self-Destructive Act?

Anyway I think if CCP did do the big reset, Eve would die. Obviously this is after being "dying" since 2004. CCP would never do this. You cannot wipe out all that progression and not have a massive number of rage quiting. So many vets quiting would probably be too much. However that would be a short answer to the blog banter question. Eve is Dead!

Would I quit? Probably not. I'd be mad at over 8 years of progression lost just like that. Plus there is all the money I've poured into the game especially in PLEX sales. However I would continue and to be honest, as a fan of frigate and destroyer fights, I'd probably enjoy the brave new world.

However, lets think about what would happen.

First of all the corporations and alliances would reform almost instantly and start heading over to their previous areas more than likely. They would be a lot smaller due to the various rage quits and "well I was thinking about stopping playing so this seems like a good time to do it" loses.It would be fairly funny to see T1 frigate and destroyer blobs charging into null. Probably some of the larger entities would fight over the better space.

Hi-sec mining would go nuts! Veldspar and Tritanium would be highly valuable. This is not 2003. High-sec is much more highly populated than 13 years ago. The belts would probably get chewed through a lot faster.

PLEX prices would plummet. Nobody has cash so nobody is willing to pay anywhere near a billion for a PLEX. This would adversely affect those that PLEX their account obviously as they wouldn't be able to afford to the ISK people wanted to sell something worth $15. It might eventually restart at around 300m ISK mark or so.

Other than that, those who stayed would probably find the game would be still what it is now if just very quiet... a grand space opera populated by the very best and the very worst online gaming has to offer!

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 78th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page. This months topic comes from Talvorian Dex.

Blog Banter 78 - The Big Reset

Just for a moment engage your "willing suspension of disbelief". Imagine that CCP, at downtime today, reset everything in Eve Online. Everything! When you logged in you were in a starter system with your character... but now with less than a million skill points, a mere 5000 ISK and a noob ship (now with civilian afterburner!). Markets are pretty empty other than a few seeded items. All Sov is gone. All player structures are gone. All PI infrastructure is gone. No corps or alliances exist. Nothing remains. New Eden is suddenly a completely level playing field and the next great gold-rush is on? Or is it? What happens now?

Of course the difference is the cost. I can buy 163 of my Moa for one of his. He's known to run a Crystal set so that'll make the fit better. His repping goes from 549 to 852 EHP/Sec with a full high-grade set and that is a lot of tank.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

I was going to tackle the "I'm a X-year vet and CCP should give me a free Omega clone" or the equally mind-boggling "I'm a vet, my Alpha clone should allow me to use all the skill points I've paid for!" that has been going around social media for the last week.

I started writing but knocked myself out face-palming trying to explain how a business works so don't have a full post on that. What I would like to cover instead, as its nice and easy, is the statement that accompanied some of the discussions on this topic...

"Well I hope everyone starts to use PLEX to pay their sub and CCP lose money that way".

Obviously some people seem to think PLEXed accounts are bad for CCP which is exactly the opposite. There appears to be some out there who think PLEX are not as good as other forms of subscriptions for CCP and if everyone subbed via PLEX CCP would be in trouble. Here is another shocker after CCP giving free access to their paying customers is bad:-

CCP would love it if EVERYONE subbed via PLEX!

I'll take you through the numbers...

I sub my main through 12-month credit-card. As the prices for PLEX on my phone are in US dollars I'll just use that for this worked example.

A 12-month sub is 131.40 USD which is $10.95 per month. Just looking on my phone I see CCP is selling 12 plex for $209 which, if used to sub an account for a year, is $17.50 per 30 days (not even a full month).

99% or so of all PLEX on the market are there because a player has bought them from CCP or an authorised re-seller and put them on the market. Yes there are some on there that CCP give out as prizes, rewards etc. However most are player bought.

Therefore CCP is making extra cash every time someone PLEXs their account as opposed to a credit-card payment. Depending on the PLEX package and which subscription package this could be as much as $9 per month per account. If I bought 28 plex at $489.86 that would keep me going nearly 2 years and 4 months. However that is $17:50 per month. Still more expensive than paying by credit card even on a 1-month plan.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

I'm a bad Capsuleer. I won't bore you with the specifics but last few months have not been great. Just look back at the posting on here and you'll see it died off mostly and the less said about my kill-board the better in the last half year. Anyway, I'm making an effort to get back into things and lets be honest, how important is real life anyway?

One thing I have neglected has been the Blog Banters so that needs sorting out straight away as I've missed September and October. Bad Drack! Bad Drack!

The "Potential Topic List" is a tad empty currently. Any suggestions for a question you'd like to have the various Eve Online Bloggers discuss?

Outstanding ones that have been suggested over last few months include (I'm paraphasing these to keep them short):-

The Big Reset - What would happen if CCP reset ALL THE THINGS? Suddenly everyone is in a Rookie ship with 800k ish skill points, 5000 ISK and nothing else..

PvE v1 - CCP have been running more PvE events recently. What are the pros and cons of the current in game PvE. Should CCP invest more into this side of the game, if so how?

PvE v2 - CCP continue to make PvE harder and harder. Ganking is easier than ever. Mining and hauling are more difficult than ever. PvE is stagnant and neglected. Are CCP focusing on the niche of PvP too much?

Null Sec Mechanics - Following World War Bee/War of Sovless Aggression/Casio Wars what does does the big slug-fests say about current Null Sec Sov Mechanics. Do things need to change? If so what?

Any of these float your starship or have you got a better idea? Leave a comment below or fire me an Eve-Mail and it might go out to the Bloggers this week!

Monday, November 14, 2016

I've been thinking about how CCP plan to make money off Alpha clones. Not coming up with much! This is all speculation and brainstorming. I'm not thinking too much just wondering where this could go...

Obviously encouraging new players into the game and getting them to subscribe is the the number 1 aim for CCP. However I am sure they are looking for ways to make money off people who want to play for free. CCP is a business and to survive they need cash. You don't get anything for nothing. So how can CCP make money from Alphas that won't subscribe?

First of all we have the obvious NEX store. Ship skins might be popular so people are likely to want some of those. However the whole purpose of an Alpha clone is you don't have to pay for it. These are likely to buy Aurum tokens from the market if they want a nice new skin. That is probably achievable through PVE and industrial activities on a five million SP character every so often. That in turn will increase Aurum token prices which again will encourage Omega's to sell them which of course needs PLEX.

Then we have the space-Barbie clothing line. I think most of us agree, what's the point. Without WiS its unlikely to be a big winner for CCP other than glasses, hats and other things you see in the portraits we see 99.999% of the time. I could put something here about a hope CCP are looking at some limited WiS but best to avoid that "Marmite" topic!

Onto PLEX. This will probably be another source of income from the Alpha's. I'm no expert on making money in Eve unless you count selling PLEX. I have no idea how long it'll take a 5m SP toon in a T1 cruiser to make the one billion at current prices but I bet its a while. This may mean Alpha's who are really into the game but strapped for cash may sub with a PLEX once every X months.

Skill Injectors

Again may be a good option for Alpha clones if the reduced training rate is too slow. 600m ISK is a lot of cash though for a 5m SP T1 only toon stuck in a cruiser? If they are buying, costs will go up encouraging other players to buy extractors from the NEX store and increase CCP's cash flow. Thinking about it, this is probably going to be even less than space-barbie items. Scrub that.

Then....? Well I think thats about it isn't it with current mechanics. What else could CCP be looking at?

WiSShit I did it didn't I. Oh well, anyone who has read this blog knows that I am a supporter of some limited WiS to push the old CCP "Eve: A Future Vision" video. Sci-Fi nerd and immersion etc etc. Without it I cannot see NEX sales for clothing and cosmetic avatar items being much at all. Then again I don't see CCP opening this can of worms.

Mini-PLEXOne billion ISK is a lot of money. 15 earth dollars/pounds/Euros is a lot of money to many. Actually, not pounds anymore since Brexit, they're not worth much at all these days (great for us Expats!). Will CCP be looking at more PLEX options than just the 30 day version. Will we see 14 day or even 7 day options pop up in the NeX store? 250m ISK for a week of full access? If you have a week off work and not doing anything that might be worth it. Especially if you are on a lapsed account and you could could jump from 5m SP to 100m SP. Christmas holiday sat around playing board games with the family? Nope! Christmas holiday pewpewing the scrubs!

Alpha AcceleratorsHow about some implants restricted to Alpha clones that speed up their slow training? Nope. That'll be creating something that will impact on players. Current options are skill injectors (a net loss of SP overall) or attribute enhancers which are farmed by players.

I'm really struggling here! Is there any other way for CCP to make money from the "freemium" players without causing some detriment to their subscribers? Ideas?

Thursday, November 10, 2016

The new SoCT destroyer is on the test server. A dessy anyone can use (including 'filthy casual' alpha clones). It has a 4-4-4 slot layout and can be shield, armour or hull tanked. My first test was an oversized AB arty fit. Basically similar to a 10mn Arty Thrasher.

I cam across a Hecate and it was a good fight. I lost but it was one of those that I would have popped him on the next gun cycle, he just managed to get there first. Given the low skill requirements for a ship, it did rather well against a T3.

Next I tried a similar fit but rather than a shield booster I went for a passive hull tank. Dropping the guns from T2's to scouts allowed me to go with dual web.

300 DPS with warriors and 10k EHP. Speedo tops out at 1700m/sec and is cap stable.

Now to find a gud fite! Lots of Golem's and other BS but not a lot of small stuff :(

Find a Navy Slicer but he's kity. Load Sabot ammo and he decides not worth it and disengages as he reaches structure and I'm hull tanking like I real man. I go back to station and rep up.

Out again.. next up a Phantasm. Yeah.... that went....

Managed to escape but only just. So conclusion.... Sunesis doesn't make as good an over-sized AB dessy as the Thrasher!

Next up, how about as a drone boat. Went up against the Phantasm again and this time....

He disengaged but it went a lot better although I think that was more piloting error on his part. Not sure the Sunesis is going to be as popular as the Gnosis but we'll see.

P.S. Still dislike the new Aura voice. "Warp drive.... ACTIVE!" is bad enough but "DockingPermissionRequested" is starting to grate too. Take a breath love!

Sunday, November 6, 2016

As I posted on Friday, the New Player Experience comes with a new Aura and her new voice. I really don't like it. She sounds like a cross between Talky Toaster and a 90's telephone queuing system. "Press.... 2..... FOR.... Billing.....". Anyway its a personal thing and others might like it. We'll see. However someone on Twitter mentioned voice packs and I suggested Samuel L Jackson. Then it all got a bit silly...

Friday, November 4, 2016

Well appear to be getting on top of real life at the minute (after a few months of really not) so back to Eve and I hear the New Player Experience is on SiSi. Lets go and see. Obviously spoilers if you are planning to do the NPE story-line yourself.

Quickly clear a slot and make a Caldari toon (Looks like they reduced biomass countdown from 10 hours to 10 minutes on SiSi). Lets do this!

OK in space and in an Ibis. Not that new so far. Wait. Who the smeg is Fleet Commander Kaatara.

Training restrictions? Oh here's Aura. Wait, am in a bubble in a 1.0 system? Drifters? Will new players be thinking Borg V2 like I am or "space hobos". Could do with a quick explanation what Drifters are?

Ooooo! Wrecked Titan. Sounds like my fleet got kerb-stomped!

Not graduated from flight school? Find survivors? OK I can do that.

Showing camera control using right-click. Navigation using right-click and then onto radial menu. Good stuff for new bros

New tips are good showing visuals where to go. Helpful!

Sisters of Eve research team? Good voice acting here. What.... Drifters are coming back here? I'M IN A IBIS AND IN A BUBBLE! OK, kill bubble generator... wait... Seeker! Kill it! Another seeker! Kill it! A second bubble? FFS. What did you say? A SQUADRON OF DRIFTER BS HEADING MY WAY!

"The cluster is shutting down"

FFS.

OK Back on. Kill backup bubble now. Easy! 30km in an Ibis! Oh well that was easy to kill and.... oh....

RUN AWAY!

OK so I need to build a data analyser? Really? What are you talking about. There are hundreds only 3 jumps away and 50k. You just gave me 250k for doing that first bit. OK so we'll look at that in a moment will we. First skills. What? New character sheet. Oh, this is what some were QQ'ing about. Mmmmmm first up "Give CCP MOAR MONEY!"

Yeah, I have 259,000 ISK and this is advising me to spend a billion. Righto!

Erm.... yeah... not sure I like this. Might be the Bitter Vet in me but.... wut?

Why is it not in alphabetical order? Where the feck are shields????

Oh there. Personally, do not like! Its going to take time to get used to where everything is now positioned.

Start! Oh yeah, my main is already training. Oh shock. More adverts pop up for "Give CCP MOAR MONEY!". I know CCP is a business but isn't all this "Pay more" pop ups going to put some off? Get them hooker first? I suppose a brand new toon will not have another one on same account so this one won't be an issue in truth.

So free skill book and tutorial on how to train skills and free armour repper (for an Ibis! Real shield tanked ships armour tank? What are we teaching new bros here?). Anyway we need to kill some pirates to to make some money to buy the stuff I need to build a data analyser for a critical mission for the State who already gave me 250k ISK were they are for sale locally. Oh well, lets engage the "willing suspension of disbelief and move on."

Need to take out the pirates but gas cloud in way. Aura telling me about going through and using AB and repper. Erm... why not just fly around it?

Getting the feeling this NPE will be OK for who its designed for but vets will have a lot of WTF moments.

"Look! Approach! Orbit! Shoot!" Thanks for that baldy!

Three waves of Kestrels. 60% shields so didn't need that repper although I was sensible and flew around the "DEADLY CLOUD OF DEATH!" that Aura thought would be a good idea just to fly through,

Oh I get a crate with just enough minerals to make a data analyser.

"Warp drive.... Active!" - Yeah I don't like that new voice!

"Dockingpermisionrequested" - Or that one!

Industrial tutorial. Seriously? 20k for a civvy BPO. They are for sale close to here! Oh well whatever.

Recon mission briefing whilst that job runs.

SoE woman - "There are few people I trust these days..." however I, someone you've just met is one of them. You need to get out more love! Wow, all that talk was just long enough for that job to run! Undock!

"Autopilot engaged." Nope, do not like.

"Warp drive.... Active!" - STOP SAYING IT LIKE THAT!

"Approaching.... STARGATE!" Stop in please!

Hack a data analyser. Pretty lights. Run away. OK.

Safe spot! Would be better to explain what that means. Oh.... Drifters hijacked a capital? I need to web it? Are you serious? You want me to go and take on a Drifter capital with a webbing Ibis? Right....

Next job warp to forward operating base. They are really shoe-horning those phases into this :)

Ohhhh a fleet at a Citadel.

Good explanation that we can build these and an opportunity to fly around the fleet and look at some caps and battleships. Ooooo I get a new ship. Well wouldn't want to go up against a Drifter controlled capital ship in an Ibis,.. so I get a... Merlin -.-

Also give a 80k "mini-skill injector" to allow you to jump to frigate IV.

So time for the big battle! Multiple jumps to get there.. Multiple "Warp drive.... ACTIVE!" annoyance. I really hate it! Please bring back the old one. Please!

Oooooo massive Drifter gate.

Inside its.... a cluster fuck! I'm in charge of Circadian Seeker murder! Erm.... bug. I just webbed a seeker and the tutorial said I completed webbing the capital ship. What capital ship? Erm... I see no capital ship! Oh... there it is!

Right, Seekers all toast time for me to be the hero... and web a FAX! Will shoot it too with my triple civilian gatling guns. PEW PEW PEW -.-

More Seekers turn up and pick on me! East to kill and back to the FAX that is being hammered by the Caldari fleet.

Pew Pew Pew! Next job? Kill the hive.

More Seekers picking on me. Kill them and then time to kill the Hive. What? When it explodes its going to be a big bang? Okaaaaay..... so you're pulling the fleet back away? Except me? I have to stay and die for the State? Wut???

BOOM!

So back I'm station in a new clone!

New ship, new modules. Done that and we now replay Fleet Commander Kaatara's speech about you're staying back to kill the Drifter hive that I heard 2 minutes ago??? Another bug! Erm.... now what? I cannot kill it again?

Well without a Hive to kill how can I finish "Death is just the beginning". Right.... its all gone...

Disappointing end (as in its stuck so I didn't see the end) but I guess it is still WiP?

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